The Constitution

• the constitution determines where power is located within a nation state and the rules by which it is governed. It also establishes the extent of the governments authority and the rights of its citizens
• in a unitary state, power is centralised and the central government possesses absolute authority
• in a federal state, power is shared and dispersed. The power of central government is limited by the sovereign power of lower levels of government, over which it has no authority
• devolution is the transfer of powers from a central government to a regional legislatures.
• devolved powers are not given away but rather said to be devolved as the central government retains sovereignty- so in theory could reclaim them.
• an uncodified constitution derives from a variety of sources and does not represent a higher law
• codified constitutions entrench constitutional rules. this makes it impossible for them to be altered without a complicated procedure that requires more than just the legislature.
• parliamentary sovereignity - parliament is the supreme legislative body, so it is free to enact any legislature as long as it has a majority since there is no entity with more power to veto it.
• since each parliament is sovereign, they cannot bind their successors to their laws
• the rule of law is the principle that the same laws apply to everyone equally, and as such the government is governed by the same rules as everyone else.
• sources of the UK constitution include: statute law, conventions, common law, landmark decisions, authoritative works and treaties.
• statute law is a parliamentary bill that has been approved by both houses of parliament and then given the royal assent. In the UK there is no authority greater than statute law.
• common law refers to judgements made by judges in important legal cases- sometimes known as judge made law- common law sets precedents to be followed in future cases.
• conventions represents the accustomed way in which political activity is carried out- the done thing. they are not legally binding, but rather their constitutional significance derives from tradition
• authorititive works are texts of such profound and enduring political significance that they contribute to the UK's constitution
• a treaty is a written agreement between two or more political entities
• examples of common law:

  The law recognises and protects property rights

  There is no legal basis for slavery

  The royal prerogative
• examples of statute law:

  Human Rights Act 1998

  House of Lords act 1999

  Equality act 2010
• examples of common law:

  Somerset v. Stewart- There is no legal basis for slavery

  R v. R- It is still rape legally to rape your wife.
• examples of landmark decisions:

  Magna Carta (1215)- established the principle that the royal prerogative is limited by law

  The Bill of Rights (1689)- established regular parliaments, parliamentary privilege, free elections & the right to petition

  The Act of Settlement (1701)- established the succession to the Crown

  The Acts of Union (1707)- established the union between England & Scotland
• examples of conventions:

  • the monarch is politically neutral
  • General Elections take place on a Thursday
  • the Salisbury convention- HoL doesn't oppose the second or third reading of legislation that is in a winning party's manifesto
• examples of authoritative works:

  • Introduction to the Law of the Constitution- AV Dicey
  • The English Constitution- Walter Bagehot
  • Parliamentary Practice- Erskine May
• examples of treaties:

  • the European Convention on Human Rights
  • The Paris Agreement?
  • The United Nations Charter?
  • The Geneva Convention?
• the UK constitution be entrenched because it is not codified.
• To entrench a constitution is to make it more difficult to change than ordinary law
• The UK has a system of parliamentary government the executive is drawn from the legislature & is accountable to it there is a ‘fusion,’ not a separation, of powers
• The UK is a constitutional monarchy and a unitary state-though with quasi-federalist features
• in the UK, we have negative rights. which means we can do what we like unless it has been expressively forbidden by law.
• civil liberties are protected by: independent judiciary from the government. the rule of law
• in the event of the constitution contradicting itself, a parliamentary statute takes precedence over all the other sources.
• Blair's two main constitutional reforms included: the Human Rights act 1998, the House of Lords reform act 1999
• Human Rights act 1998: Wrote the European Convention on Human Rights into UK law, making it enforceable by UK courts
• House of Lords act 1999: ‘Stage One’: removed all but ninety-two hereditary peers from the House of Lords and ‘Stage Two’: never happened
• the constitutional reform act 2005:

  • Took effect 2009; intended to reinforce the separation of powers.
  • The highest court in the land was renamed ‘the Supreme Court’
  • The Law Lords became Justices of the Supreme Court
  • The Supreme Court now sits in its own building, opposite the Houses of Parliament
  • An independent Judicial Appointments Committee was established
  • The Lord Chancellor was replaced as head of the judiciary by the Lord Chief Justice
• devolution is the transfer of authority, but not sovereignty, from central

  government to the regions
• reasons for devolution:

  for democracy and ‘subsidiarity’

  to placate Scottish & Welsh nationalists

  as part of the Good Friday Agreement
• devolution in Scotland has led to Scottish government and Scottish parliament.
• Scottish Parliament (elected on a ‘hybrid’ mixed-member proportional system) has legislative devolution and tax-varying powers. BUT, Westminster still controls ‘reserved powers’: constitutional affairs, foreign policy, defence, energy, social security, equalities & human rights
• Scottish results: From 1999 (when the first elections were held) until 2007 Scotland was governed by a Labour-Liberal Democrat coalition.

  Since 2007 Scotland has been governed by the Scottish Nationalists, who are supported by the Greens.
• Changes based on devolution in Scotland include:

  Free University tuition fees for Scottish undergraduates at

  Scottish universities

  Free ‘social care’ at the point of use

  Free bus passes for over-sixties

  Minimum alcohol pricing

  More restrictive lockdown measures